


Warm Lullaby

by Nyctolovian



Category: The Magnus Archives (Podcast)
Genre: Cuddling & Snuggling, Hurt/Comfort, Literal Sleeping Together, M/M, Nightmares, Pre-Canon, Pre-Relationship, Sleep Deprivation, Sleeping Together, Tim Stoker Needs a Hug (The Magnus Archives), Trauma
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-16
Updated: 2021-03-16
Packaged: 2021-03-25 00:35:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,380
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30080778
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nyctolovian/pseuds/Nyctolovian
Summary: “Now that we’re adults we have to deal with it all by ourselves. Ugh… I wish it was socially acceptable to just ask someone to be your cuddle partner."“You could.”“What? You offering?” Tim said, raising a teasing eyebrow.Tim has trouble sleeping these days. But perhaps, Jon could offer some cuddly assistance.
Relationships: Jonathan "Jon" Sims | The Archivist & Tim Stoker, Jonathan "Jon" Sims | The Archivist/Tim Stoker
Comments: 8
Kudos: 72
Collections: TMA Valentine's Exchange 2021





	Warm Lullaby

**Author's Note:**

  * For [presidenthomewrecker](https://archiveofourown.org/users/presidenthomewrecker/gifts).



> Prompt: JonTim hurt/comfort, maybe something to do with nightmares or having trouble sleeping? Probably season 1 or maybe an Everybody Lives AU?
> 
> Happy (very belated) Valentine's, Bit! No one should be left without a gift ^^ I hope you don't mind the slight timeline shift of the fic? 
> 
> Enjoy!

Someone pinched Tim's forearm hard and he startled awake. He turned to glare at the culprit. "What the hell?" he hissed.

But Jon only glowered before subtly jerking his head towards the back. Tim blinked, drowsy and perplexed, before following Jon's gaze. 

Ah. Elias had just entered the research department. Thank goodness they were situated closer to the back of the room; if not Tim would already be in hot water. And thank goodness for Jon. Sheepishly, he whispered his thanks to Jon, who nodded and resumed his work. Tim blinked hard to get any bleariness out of his eyes and drank some water. 

As the boss walked past his cubicle, he opened some folders to make himself look busy, as though he hadn’t been asleep on the job just ten seconds ago. When Elias was out of sight, Tim sighed. He tried his best to resume work. However, the words on the computer blurred into an incoherent messy blob and his mind drifted into a hazy blankness.

The next time he awoke was to Jon gently shaking his shoulder. "It's 6."

After a glance at the clock, Tim ran a hand through his hair and groaned softly. A full day had gone by and he had done almost nothing to lessen the never-ending pile of work on his desk. "Right, right." He stood up, slinging his bag over his shoulder. 

Jon's eyes followed him. "You haven't been sleeping well?" 

It was difficult to. In August, his dreams so frequently wandered into hellscapes of colourful fabrics and shrill echoes of a calliope. And then, on the unfortunate occasion that they were different, it’d be of bright dimpled laughter and sunlight at the end of a hike, speckling curly brown hair golden. Those were the dreams that made Tim’s heart pound deafeningly and sent him nearly scream-crying into his pillow, lips trembling. 

It was so much easier to sleep when in the office. Between the monotonous sounds of typing, the somewhat soothing noise of pages flipping and the gentle hum of the air-conditioning, he found himself comfortably on the cusp of sleep, getting some rest without fully submerging.

He didn’t explain all that to Jon though. He merely shrugged.

Jon didn’t push him for an explanation. That was what Tim liked about Jon, he thought. That he was never pushy about things the way others might be. 

They got into the train, and the two managed to squeeze into a nook in the carriage. Tim leaned against the wall. 

“Wasn’t it so much easier when you were a kid?” he said, folding his arms and resting his head against a railing. “If you had trouble sleeping. I still remember just sliding into my parents’ bed when I had a nightmare. Even if the nightmare came back, I’d wake up in my mum’s arms and that would be enough to calm me down.”

Jon hummed in agreement.

“Now that we’re adults we have to deal with it all by ourselves. Ugh… I wish it was socially acceptable to just ask someone to be your cuddle partner.”

“You could.”

“What? You offering?” Tim said, raising a teasing eyebrow.

Jon frowned and pressed his thumb against his lip in deep thought. As adorably earnest as Jon looked, Tim didn’t think his heart could handle the idea of cuddling to sleep with Jon (whom he may or may not have a teeny-tiny baby crush on). 

“Uh…” He laughed nervously. “I was just kidding, Jon.”

“No, no. I think it’d be good,” Jon said. “If it’d help you better sleep at night, I wouldn’t mind being a cuddle partner.”

His heart leapt to his throat, and he rolled his eyes to hide the reaction. “Oh, you’ll mind by the morning. I need to warn you – I kick in my sleep.”

“What a coincidence,” Jon replied jokingly. “So do I!”

Somewhere in between half-hearted protests, Tim found himself at Jon’s house. They had stopped by at his house to pick up some toiletries and clothes. Tim hardly had the energy to pay much attention to Jon’s place (but if a squirrel had a human home, he’d think it’d look a little like this). For dinner, they chose pasta, something simple and quick, and Tim was thankful for that because he only nearly nodded off into his plate twice.

At 9.00pm, after cleaning up, Jon led him to his bedroom and carried out some extra blankets and pillows from his cupboard. It was a bit of a tight squeeze but Tim slipped into slumber quickly, with Jon’s arms wrapped around his middle.

* * *

"Tim?"

Tim recoiled, breath catching. But it was just Jon, his face bearing concern and worry as his hand hovered where Tim had been lying a moment ago. For a second, it had felt cold and plastic around Tim’s shoulder. Jon drew his hand closer to his chest. 

Remnants of his nightmare still clung to his consciousness, however. Tim glanced around furtively. From the corner of his eyes, silhouettes in the room seemed to move eerily, like moving hands, like shivering fabric, like clacking plastic joints. 

“Tim,” Jon called, and Tim’s eyes snapped forward. “You’re in my room. You’re safe here.”

He gulped. “Yeah,” he breathed out, but he was still trembling.

Slowly, to allow Tim time to push him away, Jon reached over. His palm rested against Tim’s back, a solid warm weight, before pulling him gently towards himself. Tim let himself lean forward and dropped his head against Jon’s shoulder. He closed his eyes as Jon rubbed slow, firm circles against his back.

“Breathe for me, okay? In… and out,” Jon whispered. “In… and out.”

Tim tried. He took time. He forced himself to concentrate on Jon’s voice, on his warmth. And throughout, Jon was there, stroking his back and guiding his breath. 

Eventually, some tension had seeped out his chest, and he could follow Jon’s pace. He lifted his head and eased himself upright. Jon’s hand slid upwards to his nape, and it took to massaging that area. The shoulder of Jon’s shirt was dark with dampness, and Tim realised that he had a fist curled around the hem of Jon’s shirt. He swallowed thickly around nothing.

“Better,” Tim muttered. “Yeah. ‘m better.”

“Do you need water?” Jon asked gently. 

Licking his lips, he nodded. 

But when Jon stood up, Tim found his grip tightening around Jon’s shirt. His face felt hot as he released his hold. God, he wasn’t a bloody child. He was being a massive nuisance to Jon already. He didn’t need to add childishness to his ever-growing list of ways he had embarrassed himself in front of Jon.

“Oops!” Tim said, mustering a dismissive chuckle. "No idea what's gotten over me." He expected Jon to just nod and leave to get water. Instead, he frowned slightly in that endearingly concentrated way of his before holding his hand out. 

Blinking, Tim slid his hand into Jon’s, which then tightened. His pitter-pattering heart settled as Jon tugged him to his feet and into the kitchen, where they stood silently while waiting for the water to fill the cups. 

It must look ridiculous, Tim thought. Two grown men holding hands to get some water from the kitchen before padding back into the bedroom. But between these four walls, he knew there would be no judgement, only comfort and safety. 

So, as they settled back under the blankets, Jon latching onto Tim’s back again like a protective backpack, Tim found refuge enough to close his eyes, and ease himself back into the darkness.

* * *

Much to Tim's simultaneous embarrassment and relief, this sleeping arrangement continued through the month. Sometimes, it'd be at Jon's and sometimes, it'd be at Tim's. Either way, they’d always leave two cups of water on the bedside table before they went to bed. And each night Tim would be wrapped in Jon's embrace as he drifted to sleep. The soft even breaths against his back and the heavy warmth of Jon's body lulled Tim to sleep far easier than unsettling silence and aching emptiness ever did.

It was still impossible to avoid bad nights altogether. It wasn't a cure-all, of course, he still had nightmares, but they were far more bearable with Jon's presence.

Tim supposed it'd be alright.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm a bit of a sucker for hurt/comfort so your prompt gave me *ideas* and I decided to pinch-hit for ur gift! Jontim has been a pair i wanted to write for but never had the chance to so :D It's a little short but I still hope u liked it :"
> 
> Thank you iceeckos for helping me beta-read this fic! You've really helped me smoothen out the rough parts of this fic haha!
> 
> If you liked my fic, feel free to bother me on tumblr [here](https://nyctolovian.tumblr.com)! Or just comment down below and shower me some love with kudos ^^


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